1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of envelope constructions in general, and in particular to envelope constructions having built in tear strips incorporated into the envelope construction.
2. Description of Related Art
As can be seen by reference to the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,178,097; 3,370,782; 3,644,120, and 4,795,035, the prior art is replete with myriad and diverse envelopes having a built in mechanism for facilitating the opening of a sealed envelope.
While all of the aforementioned prior art constructions are more than adequate for the basic purpose and function for which they have been specifically designed, they are uniformly deficient with respect to their failure to provide a simple, efficient, and practical arrangement to allow a person to open a sealed envelope from either end of the envelope.
As most people are generally aware, and left handed people are particularly aware, most self-opening envelope constructions are specifically designed to favor right handed individuals in that the tag or starting end of the severing strip is normally positioned on only one and that end favors a right hand dominant opening or tearing motion.
As a consequence of the foregoing situation, there has existed a longstanding need for a new and improved type of envelope construction wherein the tear strip can be grasped from either end of the envelope construction depending on the choice of the person opening the envelope, and the provision of such a construction is a stated objective of the present invention.